Better Fiction

Asustek's Eee PC

Okay, this is about a machine we can use for writing, rather than the writing itself--but I don't consider that small talk, no matter the size of the machine.

I currently have more computers than I know what to do with. I built one that gave me headaches. I think I've fixed it, but I don't have room or reason to set it up again and really find out. It sits idle atop a bookcase.

Last year I friend gave me a laptop for Christmans, as an unexpected reward for my work on his website.

I don't need another computer.

Still, from time to time I look at the pocket PC's that are being resold, or at the fancy phones with keyboards, dreaming about the perfect writing machine. Something small, light, and easy.

The One Laptop Per Child project caught my interest for just that reason. They were building a small, simple (if toyish) laptop that would cost under $200. (The unmet goal was $100.) I thought this might open the door.

Intel answered the OLPC with its own Classmate PC, running $200-$300. Again, this was targeted at children.

Now enter Asustek as they look to step up as a major player with their 2 pound small laptop for adults, the Eee PC, starting at $300 US. It comes with 4 G's of flash memory (no hard drive) and 512 Mb's of DRAM, Wi-Fi capability, a video camera, easy Skype interface, speakers, a mircophone, and a hi-res (though small) 7" screen. The user interface is Linux based, but Windows worried enough about the potential success of this machine that they are offering XP to Eee owners for 1/3 the cost ($40 US).

This is the opening of the door I was looking for. The relative simplicty of the machine is meant for new computer owners, but the for a small, light writing machine, the Eee has much more than a writer needs.

Will I run out and buy one? No.

Why not? I'm patient, and I don't need a computer right now. Chances are, neither do you.

However, many people do. And this will sell like crazy. 18 months from now, smaller will no longer mean more expensive, as has been the case. A new market is opening--and for those of us who would like something light and simple to carry with us, to write with as we please, this opens a brave new world (unless you're perfectly happy with pencil and paper).

My laptop has been great--when it's time to move on, though, I look forward to small, light, and lean. I need something with a full keyboard and a screen I can read. I need something versitile enough to use for other purposes, but I don't need the world.

It doesn't look like the Eee will double as a portable DVD player, as my current laptop does--making it less than perfect for long days sitting at an open house--but the writer in me doesn't care. The writer in me doesn't want the memory clogged up and the speed zapped by uneccesary gizmos and gadgets. He wants the perfect writing machine.

And I think we're getting close.

Wade